title: Pilot clinical application of an adaptive robotic system for young children with autism.
abstract: It has been argued that clinical applications of advanced technology may hold promise for addressing impairments associated with autism spectrum disorders. This pilot feasibility study evaluated the application of a novel adaptive robot-mediated system capable of both administering and automatically adjusting joint attention prompts to a small group of preschool children with autism spectrum disorders (n = 6) and a control group (n = 6). Children in both groups spent more time looking at the humanoid robot and were able to achieve a high level of accuracy across trials. However, across groups, children required higher levels of prompting to successfully orient within robot-administered trials. The results highlight both the potential benefits of closed-loop adaptive robotic systems as well as current limitations of existing humanoid-robotic platforms.
authors.affiliation: Vanderbilt University, USA.
authors.forename: Esubalew
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bekele
authors.affiliation: Vanderbilt University, USA.
authors.forename: Julie A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Crittendon
authors.affiliation: Vanderbilt University, USA.
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Swanson
authors.affiliation: Vanderbilt University, USA.
authors.forename: Nilanjan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sarkar
authors.affiliation: Vanderbilt University, USA zachary.e.warren@vanderbilt.edu.
authors.forename: Zachary E
authors.initials: ZE
authors.lastname: Warren
mesh_terms: D001288:Attention; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003463:Cues; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012371:Robotics; D012656:Self-Help Devices
keywords: autism spectrum disorder; joint attention; robotics; technology